A Russian billionaire businessman has the power to influence his government even without direct political ties, the Australian government has argued in court while rejecting claims it made mistakes when sanctioning him.
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Alexander Abramov, who became head of Russia's largest steel producer Evraz, is suing Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong in the Federal Court, after the former government's April sanctioning of 67 Russian elites and oligarchs over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions imposed by former foreign minister Marise Payne on Mr Abramov were later revoked, but then immediately reimposed by Ms Wong in September.
Mr Abramov's lawyer has rejected the Australian government's assertions that the steel magnate is economically or strategically significant to Russia, pointing to his self-proclaimed lack of political connections and his resignation as chair of Evraz.
The Australian government has previously claimed it's unlikely a businessman of his standing, with an estimated net worth of $6.4 billion, has no connections to the Russian government.
Barrister Perry Herzfeld SC, representing Ms Wong, argued in the Federal Court on Wednesday the sanctions were not limited to those who have direct influence on foreign governments.
Even if Mr Abramov's assertions about his lack of government influence were correct, influence could come about indirectly - in his case, through Evraz, Mr Herzfeld said.
Both decisions to sanction him focused on his influence on Evraz rather than the government, he said.
"The mere fact of the condemnation ... might cause foreign governments to be influenced," Mr Herzfeld told the court.
People of significance don't lose their ability to influence others just because they resign from a particular role, he suggested.
The government rejected Mr Abramov's assertions it made mistakes when it sanctioned him by not taking into account his resignation as Evraz chair in March, and by wrongly referring to him as the company's co-founder.
Government references to Mr Abramov as chair of Evraz in April were irrelevant to the criteria for sanctions, another counsel for Ms Wong, Brendan Lim, told the court on Wednesday.
If Justice Susan Kenny was concerned about the government's use of present tense to describe his role, the discrepancy of a few weeks wasn't significant enough to force their description outside the criteria, he said.
Given the invasion of Ukraine, "prominent Russians may well resign positions (and) sell football clubs", Mr Lim said.
Mr Abramov was "in any realistic sense" Evraz's co-founder given he helped found predecessor companies, the lawyer argued.
Founding and continuing to be involved in Evraz was of itself "open to be seen as (having) economic or strategic significance to Russia", Mr Lim said, noting reports the company has been a long-time supplier to the Russian military.
The businessman's lawyers were wrong to argue the minister's decision could be upended by simple mistakes of fact, Mr Herzfeld said.
"There is no error of law in simply making a wrong finding of fact," he said.
Justice Kenny asked the parties to respond to new material handed up in court by early December.
Australian Associated Press
